Gotta Knock A Little Louder
by Shiny-kun
Summary: One shot. CloudLeon.  Leon helps Cloud to get through the door blocking his emotions.


Authoresses' notes: I'm a sucker for CloudLeon. So much of a sucker I wrote this… fluff. You heard me, FLUFF!!!!! Okay, angsty with a little fluff. I'm working my way there. Anyway, this is a Shonen Ai, which is literally translated into boy love (aww). I'm a sucker for this crap.

Gotta Knock a Little Harder

Cloud x Leon

It was dark. There was no real source of light, only the small flitters of light that danced under the door. The door, wooden and rotting, was held in place by thick chains. It was impossible to get through the door. On the other side, in the light, he could hear voices. People laughing and playing, people who he knew. Friends.

But, he stayed on the dark side of the door. Occasionally, he could see shadows pass though the light, casting him into total darkness. To him, happiness was just a word. It might have meant a thing or two if he had known the difference. His life was empty, like his side of the door, a lonely parody.

He was always safe inside. No one could ever get in the door, his heart. Some people had tried, but he slammed the door so tight that they could never get in. He kept his emotions, his cool under lock and key and never shed a tear. Another sign of his condition.

His fears kept him on the run. His fear of perhaps finding love, or maybe his fear that bitter vanity would overtake him. So he kept the chain on his door.

And on the other side was a ghost, someone who was calling his name. But he refused to listen. Every time he heard that voice, saying his name so warmly, he blocked it out. Recoiled further from the door. Every time Cloud Strife heard anything at all from out there, he recoiled into himself.

But the more that he heard, the more that he fell, and the harder he fell, the longer he stalled. He was falling into the darkness.

And, suddenly one day, when he was blocking out those voices, it occurred to him. The reason why running and hiding had totalled his feelings. And that everything on the other side could never be much worse than this. But he didn't know if he could go the distance anymore, if he could care like he used to.

That's when he listened. He heard the voices outside.

"Hey guys, let go! C'mon Sora, Donald, Goofy," said a female voice

"Yeah, we're coming Yuffie" came the multiple replies

They were leaving. Cloud's heart began to race. He took a risk; he faced the door, in all his shame, and whispered, "Guys? Don't go…"

Cloud peeked through the gap in the door. He saw silhouettes against the light. He could make out four figures moving, and one still. One of the moving figures stopped.

"C'mon Squall," the same female voice, Yuffie, said.

"It's Leon," same the sharp reply. "And I thought I heard something," he added in a lower tone.

Cloud watched Yuffie's figure grab onto Leon's and drag him off. Cloud faced the door, once again. Only this time, he began to tear away the chains.

"Leon?" he questioned, a little louder. He soon shouted the name again, "Leon!"

His fingers worked hard, rubbing the skin and bleeding, but he still tore at the golden binds until they broke. He yanked at the handle, but it wouldn't budge. The other side was locked. It was locked so tight that the door wouldn't open.

So cloud gave it all he had. She began to knock on the door and shouted for someone to open the lock. That's when he heard it. His fist came to a stop inches from the door.

"I could have sworn I heard someone," said a voice. A voice from the other side of the door.

"Damnit Leon, now you're just being paranoid!" Yuffie complained.

"I'm in here!" Cloud yelled. He began to knock again, this time harder. He could hear Leon through his wooden confines.

"Just gotta knock a little harder," he mumbled to himself.

His fists slammed onto the wood, shaking it to the very edges. He did this again and again, harder and harder, blood snaking down his wrists and onto his arms, weaving intricate patterns.

"Gotta knock a little harder," he reminded himself.

And he heard it. A knock from the other side. He pounded in reply.

'I'm in here!" He cried, tears welling in his blue eyes. "I promise I'll try, just find me!"

He raised his fist to smash the door with all his strength. As he threw his whole body into it, the door opened. His propulsion threw him into the light. It blinded him so he had to shut his eyes, but he had never felt this before. It was so warm; it felt like a warm summers day, and it smelt like incense; sandalwood and musk.

When Cloud finally opened his eyes, he was greeted with a pair of sapphire blue eyes. He was being held, strong arms tightly wound around him. He felt warmth radiating from the brunette man. He was the warmth, the smell.

"I heard you knocking," he whispered into the blonde's ear.

Leon was the light.


End file.
